Posted on 05/31/2004 1:43:51 PM PDT by GreatOne
Edited on 05/31/2004 1:48:29 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
The handful of valiant American warriors fighting the ''other'' war in Afghanistan is not a happy band of brothers. They are undermanned and feel neglected, lack confidence in their generals and are disgusted by Afghan political leadership. Most important, they are appalled by the immense but fruitless effort to find Osama bin Laden for purposes of U.S. politics.
This bleak picture goes unreported because journalists are rarely seen there. It was painted to me by hard U.S. fighters who are committed to the war against terrorism but have a heavy heart. They talked to me not to undermine policy but to reveal problems that should and can be corrected.
Afghanistan constitutes George W. Bush's clearest victory since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The Taliban regime has been overthrown, eliminating al-Qaida's most important base. But the overlooked war continues with no end in sight. Narcotics trafficking is at an all-time high. If U.S. forces were to leave, the Taliban -- or something like it -- would regain power. The United States is lost in Afghanistan, bound to this wild country and unable to leave.
The situation in Afghanistan, as laid out to me, looks nothing like a country alleged to be progressing toward representative democracy under American tutelage. Hamid Karzai, the U.S.-sponsored Afghan president, is regarded by the U.S. troops as hopelessly corrupt and kept in power by U.S. force of arms.
Those arms are not what they seem. The basic U.S. strength in Afghanistan is 17,000 troops of ''straight-legged'' infantry -- conventional forces ill-prepared to handle irregulars. The new unit assigned to Afghanistan is the 25th Infantry Division, which has been stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and has not seen combat since the Vietnam War...."
Novak was okay before he went through some sort of life change.
He's a "CNN Conservative"
Greg Palkot of Fox was embedded there recently, but I don't remember any special reporting from him.
LOL! Excellent definition.
Especially when he's bashing Republicans or outing CIA agents.
He's really old and it shows. He has been against war all along, he wants a bigger tax cut.
He is no match for Carville and Begala either.
NOT.
My younger brother is a sergeant first class who has just completed his third or fourth tour. From what I gather from him, Novak is right on point. We have a mess not just in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan. The Bush Regime is more interested in doing things for political gains than for any other reason. Troops are discouraged. They can see the politics.
Old Bob's been poisoned by his long term association with CNN. He's a gadfly.
Novak is off his meds again.
There's nothing we can do about that. It's inherent with islam. Islam is not a religion of peace.
Amazing. My wife and I work with the troops and their families deploying and coming back through Ft. Lewis and they don't seem to have the same opinion...they only disappointment we're heard was about the attitude of the press and the liberals in Congress.
Now isn't that strange?
That's interesting, because I'm hearing the exact opposite from the folks I know who have come back recently. Go figure. Incidently, they don't use the term "Bush Regime" either.
Your brother, if he told you that, is either lying or a Democrat.
First of all I am not going to let you get away calling this administration a regime. Now tell me, what unit is your brother in and where was his tours of duty?
They call President Karzai the Mayor of Kabul. Warlords control the rest of the land. If fighting is still going on, you can't call it a victory yet or are we dealing with nuage newspeak?
Amazing isn't it.
Novak has to ingatiate himself to his liberal employers at CNN. He sold his soul long ago.
He may be in the French Army.
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